The Cursed Crystal
by Shugo Kairi Lin Fatewin
Summary: Every story has a begining, a middle, and an end. Paranormal Sanctian Began here. Follow Kairi and her friends through the hardships they faced before they could go to the Santcaury or Paranormal World. Copywrite 2012: I own this.
1. Preface

_Preface_

"Hello, little girl." I glanced up, and saw an old man near me. He was holding a dark box-like suitcase that seemed too big for the old man to carry. It dangled by a handle that he held onto, his fingers so strained that his knuckles were white.

"Hi," I said simply, not liking to talk to strangers. I moved forward in an attempt to walk away, but he blocked my way.

"You look like a nice, Japanese girl," he said, sounding kind. There was an edge of uneasiness in my stomach though.

"Japanese American," I corrected.

"What's your name, young lady," he asked. His sincere curiosity led me to believe he was innocent.

"Yoru," I said, though I wasn't sure if I should've. He looked to be in his mid-fifties, grey hair that surprisingly wasn't balding. His wrinkled face showed many years that had passed.

"Yoru? Would you do me the kindness of taking this doll from my hands?" The old man tilted the box so it was level before opening the front and revealing a pale, porcelain doll with purple clothing and an eye patch. Instantly, I knew it was from Japan. It had to be.

"Why would I take it? Why would you give it to me?" I questioned despite my longing for the doll. It was a strange kind of longing, one that I hadn't felt before. Almost too compelling to resist.

"Why not? Here, she's yours. Take care of her," he said. He handed the box to me before I could say anything else. I struggled to hold it due to its massiveness. The doll inside could have come to my hip when standing upright. I looked at it for a second before looking up to thank him. To my astonishment, I found that the old man was already gone. I looked around, surprised by the brief encounter and the end result. I glanced back down into the box where the porcelain doll watched me with her golden eye. I shivered before closing the box.

I took it by the handle, letting it dangle as I kept my eyes open for my mom and dad. The store was busy, crowded as it always was on Saturdays. As I began to walk, I considered leaving the doll behind. It seemed a bit suspicious to me that the old man who'd given it to me had actually given it to me for nothing in return.

What if it was bugged? He could be some spy from the government trying to hoax people into taking bugged dolls so he could find out their secrets. You never knew with this world anymore.

I decided to keep it and tell Mom about it. She would tell me what to do, and maybe we could find the guy that gave it to me. I could've at least thanked him for it, then.

When I did find my parents, I explained to them the strangeness of the old man and how he disappeared so quickly. They looked for him the rest of the time we were at the grocery store, but with no luck, we finally decided to accept it as a gift, taking it home as we left.

I shouldn't have taken that doll that day.

_ Darkness does not scare me. I do not fear the dark, but rather what lurks inside the dark. Not only that but I now know after everything I've been through, that even in the deepest darkness, there is light._

_ Every story has a beginning, middle, and an end. This is a story that has changed me, and my friends that have lived through it as well. The trials and tribulations in this story that we faced changed us forever, and as I look back upon it, I feel it has made me stronger, and helped me decide my destiny. This is the chronicle of our lives._

_ Roses, beautiful and red. I reach forward to touch one, quickly withdrawing when a sharp pain pricks my fingers. Scarlet leaks from my hand, falling onto the ground; where my blood falls, new roses sprout, healthy and red._

_ My eyes catch movement in the air. Roses flying left and right catch fire in blue flames, landing and making a pathway through the rose garden. Unsure of the reason, I walk forward through the path. At the end, I see a bright fiery veil. There's a figure in the middle._

_ Driven by curiosity and compelled towards the veil of light, I walk the path until the end, pausing slightly in hesitation. Denying any second thoughts, I reach forward to touch the veil. As soon as my fingers come in contact with the shining veil, it shatters! I flinch away and take a step back, in involuntary surprise._

_ The figure comes into focus and soon I realize I am staring at my doll that has been missing. Her purple dress is folded in ruffles. Her white hair falls to her shoes which are the same shade as her dress. Her eyes are golden, and her face is emotionless. My eyes widen and I force myself to keep a straight face as the wicked thing speaks_

_ "Eienyoru!" it murmurs._

_ "You…! You can talk!?" I gasp. The doll giggles and lifts her arm up. She steps forward, causing my surprise to grow._

_ "I can do a lot more than that," the doll says allowing a sadistic smile to spread across her face. I glare as an automatic response to her cocky attitude._

_ "Is that so?" I snap. Her fingers gracefully stroke the air as her sadistic smile grows._

_ "But it is," she breathes. Her long white hair brushes against her waist as she walks closer, drawing a metal sword from the air._

_ "Freak!" I shout at her, stepping back. Her face becomes blank and serious, as if my words have triggered a switch._

_ "Ah, Eienyoru Anthemst Tsukiyomi, you are an abomination!" the doll shrieks._

_ "I'm an abomination?!" I gasp in surprise. "You're a talking, walking, breathing doll! You shouldn't exist!"_

_ The doll in front of me laughs without humor, making me angry. But she continues before I can say anything in objection. "This isn't my true form. And that isn't your true form, Eienyoru."_

_ "You're insane!" I snap._

_ "Go back to hell, devil!" the doll shouts. She holds her sword tightly in her hand before throwing it towards me. I gasp in surprise just as the blade stops right in front of my face. Everything goes black before I am numb and completely lost in the unconsciousness of sleep._

I woke, sitting straight up in my bed. The early hours of the morning drug my eyelids down despite the adrenaline pulsing through my body from the dream. I looked over to the shelf where I had last seen the doll from my dream. My breath caught in my throat. She was there, but she wasn't how I'd left her. Her legs were crossed and it seemed that her hands were on her knee in triumph. Her eyes were staring down at me in nothing less than pity and malice.

I let out a shaky breath before noticing my hand was sticky and slick with what I assumed to be sweat. It was unbelievably dark in my room, and I guessed that the sun was still dawning over the forest around the back and side of my house.

I shuddered the last of the chill left over me from the dream out of my stiff back before pushing a strand of my hair away from my face. It left a moist, sticky substance on my cheek on impact. I sighed, and flipped the light on with my not-so-sweaty hand.

When my eyes focused on my hand, I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming. Scarlet red blood had pooled in my palm, semi-dry and semi-wet. I struggled to calm my surprise, and stumbled up from my bed, still entangled in my sheets. I surveyed my body for anymore blood, thankful when I saw that there was none. I quickly ran out onto the second floor loft, and to the left, right for the bathroom. I immediately washed my hands thoroughly, both of them. Then I scrubbed the now dry and rusty brown spot on my cheek.

Once I was finished, I pressed my head to the cool basin of the sink. There was no way that had just happened. I clenched my teeth, and willed myself to forget it for now, and to face the crazy events that happened moments ago later today, or even tomorrow.

Then I thought of Kairi, and my other friends. What would they think if I told them? I shook my head, closing my eyes again. _Later, Yoru, _I told myself. _Later, when you aren't being pressed for time to get ready for school. For now, it just didn't happen._

**Okay, this is the last time that I am rewriting The Cursed Crystal! I hope you enjoy, and PLEASE, all of my dedicated readers, this is for you; Help me in any way possible! I'm so worried that it's going to be boring and I need you guys to detach yourselves from our past and act like you know nothing about what's going on in the series. Tell me if it's interesting enough to keep someone that's out of the loop reading. Thanks as always, you guys are the best! Enjoy~**

**~Kairi Fatewin 3**


	2. A Gift Worth Forgetting

_Chapter One: A Gift Worth Forgetting_

Kairi's Point of View:

The sun was bright in the sky overhead, though it wasn't very warm. There was a cool breeze that tipped the day to a chillier feel, even though it was spring. The day had been a boring one so far, and I was looking forward to my English class with Mrs. Clouser next. Not only was she the best teacher, but it was the only class that I was free to socialize with my friends.

I walked inside, finding my seat next to Yoru and Kiyo with ease. Yoru, whose dark brown hair could pass for black, gave me a droll stare, her brown eyes indicating that I was forgetting something. "What?" I asked, checking behind me to make sure she wasn't just trying to mess with me.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Kiyo asked, raising an eyebrow. I looked at her, too, and it hit me.

"Oh crap," I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I'm sorry, guys. I had to go to the library for lunch because I had to return a book."

"You were supposed to come watch for hot guys with us!" Yami said, smoothly easing into the desk beside Kiyo.

"Says you," Yoru said, glumly. "I don't think anyone at Ravenwood is attractive."

"I have a fair eye. I love those boys with light hair and blue eyes," Yami said innocently.

Yoru, my Asian-American friend from seventh grade, wasn't exactly the type that liked watching guys and gushing about their attractive ways. Kiyo and Yami were the ones that usually went goo-goo for them. They had been friends since the very beginning of seventh grade. That was the year we all met. It was probably the first year I realized what true friends were. I sat back and took a good look at them.

Kiyo's hair came down to the bottom of her shoulder blades, and we often referred to it as exotic due to its appearance. It seemed to be black at first glance, but truly, Kiyo's hair had all kinds of color tones and shades running underneath its layers, and, in the sun, if you looked really close, you could see the light highlights of darker brown and even red. The best part about Kiyo's hair was that she had never once dyed it. It was as natural as my boring, chocolate brown hair.

Yami's hair was the same as mine, a medium brown color that helped bring out her darker brown eyes. Yami always said that brown eyed people are a lot nicer than other colorful eyed people, like my dull green eyes. I guess that was a boost of confidence for her and Yoru considering she, too, had brown eyes. I envied Kiyo's eyes, though. She had light grey eyes the color of liquid steel, and sometimes, they would get a slightly blue tint to them that just went so well with her pale skin.

In my eyes, Kiyo was very pretty. She always had been. She had a slim figure that could make a model jealous, and let's just say her assets weren't exactly average. Most guys in Ravenwood didn't meet Kiyo's eyes when they talked to her.

Yoru was a tomboy of sorts, usually wearing darker clothing than the rest of us. She wasn't particularly girly in any way, and I often found her getting bored Kiyo and Yami's incessant "girl talk." I can't say I didn't blame her. The four of us were freshmen at Ravenwood's high school campus, and the only one of us that had had our first kiss was Yami.

Needless to say, it didn't go very far. The guy was a doofus that couldn't possibly be taken serious. She broke up with him a few weeks later. It was a mutual agreement.

"Hey, earth to Kairi," Yoru said, waving her hand in front of my face. I flinched at the proximity. "Are you okay?" she asked, raising an eyebrow jokingly.

"Yea, yea, I'm fine," I said, offering a smile.

"Hello, class," Mrs. Clouser called as she came in from the hallway. I assumed I had missed the late bell while engulfed in my thoughts and daydreams.

"What're we doing today, Mrs. Clouser?" a boy on the football team asked.

"Read some in your novels for now," she said, her hands full of papers, binders, and other clutters that must've been from another teacher. To Kiyo, Yoru, Yami, and I, this meant "time to pass notes and read." Mrs. Clouser was a very loosely controlling woman. She didn't get angry very easily, and she would always spout little comments that made you feel better about yourself.

The first time I met Mrs. Clouser, she said, "Hey there, beautiful girl. What period will I be having you?" She had paused to check my schedule before glancing back up. "That top really suits you. Pink is your color."

I smiled at the memory. This was our last class of the day. In all honesty, it always passed too quickly for my liking, and the bell rang before any of us were ready for it to. I packed my book bag as the school announcements chimed over the loudspeakers, signaling the release of seniors. A minute later, the bell for the rest of us to leave rang.

"Hey guys!" a familiar voice rang out when we were outside. Another of our group of friends joined us, Yomi. Her hair, long golden brown, was straightened to perfection as always, and her clear blue eyes were shining with anticipation. She was taller than the others, but shorter than me. She was perfectly thin and bony, almost as if she had came from an Anime. She had a dainty, innocent air to her that often reminded people of a fairy.

"Hey, Yomi," Kiyo said, hugging her.

"Twin, guess what happened today at lunch?" Yami asked, looping her arm with Yomi's. That was another thing. Yomi and Yami often referred to one another as twins, despite the fact that they had been born months apart, and were in no way related to each other. Strangely enough, they didn't really resemble each other, either, but we had all come to call them "the twins."

Yami began to regale Yomi with the epic tale of their hot guy encounter at lunch. Yomi, being too innocent to even think about relationships, listened with vague interest, commenting every so often about how she wouldn't have thought he was that attractive. I was lost in thought on our way to the buses, which was strangely out of character for me. I don't think the others noticed. We boarded our bus, taking seats with one another. It was our daily routine.

"Kairi!" I heard another voice call. The bus trembled as Mizu, the last of our tight group of friends, galloped onto the bus. She darted down the aisle, face full of excitement. Her curly brown hair bounced as she made her way to us. "I'll sit with Kiyo," she said, not really having a choice. Yoru and I were paired in a seat while Yomi and Yami sat behind us. Kiyo sat across the aisle alone.

"That's fine with me, of course," Kiyo said with a smile.

"I hate being younger than you guys," Mizu complained. "I never get to catch up in time because the High School buildings are closer to the bus lot than the Middle School buildings."

"Next year you can walk with us, though," Yoru offered, smiling sympathetically.

"Yeah, but that's so far away," Mizu mumbled.

"At least we live near one another!" Yami said, from behind us.

"I can't wait for this evening, by the way," Yomi added.

After school, we were supposed to meet at Kiyo's house. Her mom was making dinner. We often went to one another's houses after school thanks to the close proximity. Kiyo, Yami, Yoru, Yomi, Mizu, and I lived in the same neighborhood, rode the same bus, and, thankfully, went to the same school.

Staring out the window, I decided to let my mind travel farther into my past, reveling in information from the past and present. It would be a long bus ride, anyway.

Ravenwood Boarding School, also a private international school, wasn't very close to home. Our group of friends lived very close in proximity. We lived in the same neighborhood, and several of us knew each other in elementary school. Kiyo and Yomi were friends in Kindergarten. I was friends with Yami, then, who was friends with Kiyo at the time, too. Through Yami, I met Kiyo. In fourth grade, Yoru moved from California to Virginia, where she started going to our elementary school. She and Yomi became really close then. Mizu was a year under us, so we never even socialized with her. We always knew each other, but we were never very close. Elementary friends never lasted, anyway.

The six of us became really close in seventh grade, which, by fate, was the year we each started going to Ravenwood.

Geography began to transform into rolling hills and little town side stores as the bus drive continued. I could see mountains on the horizon, blue and weathered to a round, smooth tip instead a jagged, pointy one. We were getting closer to home, but not nearly there. Something in Kiyo, Yami, and Yoru's conversation caught my interest.

"There was an old man there, right in front of me," Yoru was saying.

"Wait, what?" I asked, turning my head to see their faces.

"So now she joins us?" Kiyo teased.

"I thought you were in Wonderland over there," Yami said with a smile.

"Nice," Mizu commented, nodding her head with approval of Yami's comment.

"I have the ability to get lost in my thoughts," I countered defensively. "Anyway, what were you saying Yoru?"

"When I went to the store with my mom yesterday, there was this really weird old man. He offered me this porcelain doll, claiming that it was perfect for me because I had Japanese heritage," Yoru said, a blank look in her eyes. "I can't believe he assumed as much, even if he was right! But still, I think it's really weird. He didn't even give me the chance to say no. He just handed it to me and walked off."

"That's a bit strange," Kiyo said, looking genuinely startled.

"Strange? That's just weird," Mizu said, giggling.

"But the worst part is the fact that he just walked off. By the time I was done looking at the doll, he was out of sight. I didn't even get the chance to thank him, not that I would want to. I don't know if I like that doll...," she murmured, voice trailing off. A moment later, she continued. "It's got a weird feel to it."

"What do you mean?" I asked, feeling the need to lower our voices. I didn't know why, but a feeling of secrecy crept into our conversation that everyone picked up on without realizing it.

"I mean she's creepy," Yoru said, her eyes staring intently at the back of the seat in front of us, almost like she was reliving a memory. I also noted how Yoru had called it "she" instead of "it." "I feel like she's watching me."

"Okay, that's just a bit too much for me," Yami said, sounding too nervous to take anymore. I felt intrigued, almost intensely compelled to find out more.

"Do her eyes, like, I don't know, follow you or something?" Yomi whispered from behind us.

"No, well, yes and no. I guess it depends," Yoru said, finally meeting my gaze and turning to look at Kiyo. Kiyo's face was a mix or thoughtfulness and wariness. "She has a wind up key on her back. If you twist it, her eyes follow you," Yoru said, in a hushed voice. She looked down, almost like she was ashamed of the fact that she had said it.

"All in favor of burning it and tossing its ashes in lake say 'I'," Yami said, raising her hand.

"I agree with Twin!" Yomi said immediately.

"I," Kiyo and Mizu said in unison, but I knew Kiyo was joking. There was a smile on her face.

"I," Yoru even said, cracking out of her "serious mode." I couldn't stop my mind from reeling with the new information about the doll.

"It's strange," I finally said after all their eyes had fallen on me. With a relenting smile, I shrugged. "I. Burn that creepy thing."

"I don't know if I can just burn it though," Yoru said, turning a bit more serious. "I mean, it looks really expensive. And it's from Japan. My mom seems to like it a lot, though it doesn't really stay anywhere but my room." A feeling of uneasiness settled over me after hearing her declaration.

"I don't like that," I said frowning. It was something that had just came out of my mouth before I had even thought about it staying in Yoru's room. She gave me a curious look before continuing.

"Imagine how I feel," she muttered.

"Anyway," Yami cut in. "Are we still going to Kiyo's tonight?"

Kiyo brightened at the mention of this evening, and all thoughts of the doll were lost. It turned out to be a bigger problem than any of us could have ever dreamed.

That night, we gathered in Kiyo's room to watch a few movies, each of claiming to have finished our homework. In all honesty, none of us had touched our homework, but we didn't really care.

At dinner with Kiyo's family, her brothers, Wyatt and Zach, taunted us like they always did. Yomi's hands were over her ears in a show of how much she didn't want to hear what they were saying. "You guys are innocent. You don't even know what a-," Zach began before Kiyo's mother gave a shrill yell at him.

"Zachary! That's quite enough," she said, giving him an exasperated glare. Kiyo nudged me, hiding a smile as Zach looked down in a guilty way.

"You guys are so stupid," Sarah, Kiyo's sister muttered shaking her head before continuing to eat her dinner.

This was normal for Kiyo's family. Everyone was pretty comfortable around one another.

We split ways after watching Twilight, to Yomi's irritation. She was a very big fan. I walked into my house across the road from Kiyo's. It was a fair sized farmhouse that had to be older than my dad, painted to be yellow but slowly losing its color as the paint chipped away with the weather. A gravel path led to the small porch and door.

I stepped into the house, smelling the familiar scent of cigarette smoke and Febreeze. Mommaw was sitting on the couch, her eyes lazily watching the television. I assumed it was the news. "How was your day with Evangeline and those other girls?" Mommaw asked. Ah. Evangeline. Kiyo's real name was Evangeline. We never called her that, of course. We usually referred to her by her Japanese nickname, Kiyo. It was the same for the rest of us. We never used our real names anymore, but our parents and other family members had the tendency to call us by our real names. I guess you could blame our fascination with the Japanese culture that had sparked our nicknames. That, and the fact that Yoru knew the language helped to feed the fire.

"Call her Kiyo," I muttered under my breath to my grandmother. "She prefers Kiyo."

"I've already told you, Faye," she said, with a perfect balance of humor and seriousness. I winced at my real name. "It's too hard for me to remember all those Chinese names."

"Japanese," I corrected automatically. She gave me an exasperated sigh before looking at me, knowingly. I smiled, feeling a bit embarrassed that I still had to explain it to her. "Sorry. We had a lot of fun."

"Good. Anything interesting happen?" she asked, pulling her extremely long, black hair over her shoulder to brush through it.

"Nope," I replied. "Nothing new either." I paused, remembering the doll. I decided against saying anything; why say something to her about creepy dolls? Knowing my grandma, she would probably ask to keep it. She and her youngest daughter, my aunt Charlotte, enjoyed collecting dolls. I had never liked them at any point in my life.

"A boring day then," she mused, putting the last remnants of her cigarette out.

"Yep," I agreed. "I'll see you around. I'm taking a shower. Maybe I can get some video game time later." At her skeptical look, I hastily added, "And if not, I could just play on the computer."

I showered, dressed in comfortable pajamas consisting of a tank top and cotton shorts. I brushed through my soppy brown hair before putting it up in a towel to let it dry some more. The night passed quickly. I played video games, and I even got some video editing done for the next video of my friends I was making. I climbed into bed, feeling particularly exhausted for no reason. I hadn't done anything strenuous that day, but I guessed it didn't matter.

My phone suddenly burst the room with light, crying out Yoru's ringtone at full blast. I winced, grabbing it quickly before it could make any more noise. "Hello?" I answered.

"Dude," Yoru whispered. I immediately sat up.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I came home, took a shower, and went to my room to change and the doll wasn't where I left it," she explained.

"Why are you whispering?" I whispered as a force of habit.

"Because I'm not supposed to be on the phone this late."

"Where did you have the doll sitting at?"

"She was on the table next to my bed. Now she's in my window sill, across the room," Yoru said, her voice dead serious.

"Maybe your mom moved it?" I offered. Yoru didn't say anything for a long time. I was starting to think her phone had died when she finally spoke.

"Maybe." She sounded weary. "I have to go. I'll talk to you tomorrow, Kairi," she mumbled.

"Call me if you need me, Yoru," I said with as much sympathy as I could muster in my tired state.

"I will. Goodnight," she said.

"Goodnight, Yoru." The line went dead, and I fell back against my pillows, mind spinning in crazy directions. I'd have to see this doll for myself.

"This is her," Yoru said, opening the door to her room. It was Tuesday afternoon; Yoru had invited me over to see the ominous doll that had been freaking her out. When I first came in, I didn't see it. Nor did Yoru. She had to look around the room before finding her, sitting on her drawing desk next to a picture she had just begun.

"You…left it there, right?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, last I saw her, she was sitting on my Manga shelf," she said, eyeing the doll with suspicion. My blood ran cold.

"Oh…," I said, feeling a bit lightheaded. "That's a bit terrifying." Yoru lifted the doll from the table, holding her up for my examination. The doll was flawless. Her hair was perfectly straight and white, all the way down to her feet. She wore little shoes that you saw kindergartners wearing. Her dress was purple, and the bottom fell in waves, ruffling up at her knees. She even wore socks! Her eyes, or eye rather considering one of them was covered by an eye patch, were the color of molten gold. Her face was perfectly expressionless. The last touch I noticed was a little lace bonnet with a white rose sticking up from it. It laced beneath her chin, tying in a bow.

I also felt her gaze staring at me heavily, as if I were some intruder in her game. I shuddered, surprised at how uncomfortable it made me to be so close to it. "I do not like it," I stated very blandly. As those words left my mouth, a number of things happened in an instant. The doll's face seemed to twist into a malicious glare just as Yoru gasped, and tossed the doll onto the bed that separated us. I recoiled, a scream building in my throat that I had to swallow to keep Yoru's mom from wondering what was going on in upstairs.

"She..! Her face moved!" I finally managed to choke out. Had I imagined it? Was my mind playing tricks on me?

"What?!" Yoru demanded. "I just felt the urge to throw her away from me, like something was wrong with her."

I bit my lip to keep calm, trying to rationalize what I'd just witnessed. The image of the doll's face, glaring at me as if it could see into my soul caused a shiver to run down my spine. I calmed my breathing. Yoru and I exchanged glances before taking action.

I moved forward hesitantly to where the doll had fallen face down on Yoru's bed. She testily stepped closer, too, wondering what had just happened just as much as I was. Yoru poked the doll before nudging her over onto her back. She faced upwards now, her expression completely emotionless. My palms dampened with sweat as nervousness poured through me.

Her face was had changed, and it couldn't have be a trick of the light.

"I know what I saw," I stated shakily.

"I believe you," Yoru finally said. She tentatively put the doll on her desk before leaving the room. I didn't hesitate to follow after her, shutting her door behind us. "Now you see? I don't know what's going on with that doll, but there is something wrong with it."

"We have to tell the others," I said after a moment.

"Yea, we should. I think Kiyo mentioned that they were hanging out at Yami's today," Yoru supplied.

"Alright, let's go."

We walked to Yami's house, finding Kiyo, Mizu, and Yami outside with Yami's puppies she adored so much. "Puppies" wasn't exactly the right term. They were full grown dogs at this point, but Yami still referred to them as puppies.

"Hey," Kiyo said, smiling as Kane pawed at Kiyo's shirt, leaving mud prints.

"Where's Yomi?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She went inside," Yami explained.

"Right here!" Yomi called out. Yoru and I glanced up to see her walking from the door that led inside. "I had to get something to drink." She carried a can of Coke with her.

"We have to talk," Yoru said, once she had joined us.

We gave Kiyo, Mizu, Yami, and Yomi the rundown of what had happened at Yoru's house.

"You're kidding me," Kiyo said, looking shocked. Yami shifted her weight uncomfortably as our words sank in.

"No, it seriously just happened," I confirmed.

"That's really freaky," Mizu said. "I want to see it!"

"No," I said firmly.

"I think we should call Ghost Busters or something," Yomi said, her face alit with humor.

"I still say we should just burn it." Yami's anxious voice attempted to joke about it, but she sounded more on the verge of screams than laughs.

"I don't think you should keep that thing in your room anymore," Kiyo finally said after it had sunk in. "You should just try to get rid of it."

"That's what I just said," Yami and Yomi replied in unison. That was also a normal thing with them. They often found it easy to speak in unison or finish each other's sentences.

"I will," Yoru said. "As soon as I'm alone, I'm going to throw it away or something."

"Good," I said, feeling a chill fall over me just remembering what had happened earlier. I would have to write about it in my diary – a rarity for me, considering I usually forgot to write in it most of the time. "I've got some homework I have to finish. I guess I'll see you guys later."

"Do you think your grandma would care if I came with you?" Yoru asked. I was taken aback by the question; Yoru was never one to invite herself to someone's house, so I knew she had to be really freaked out because of the whole doll issue.

"No, of course not. You can come with me," I replied. She gave me a grateful smile. "Besides, after homework, I wanted to show you some videos I've been making."

"Sounds good to me," she said. We turned to leave before I caught myself, remembering something I was supposed to ask them.

"Hey, Poppaw wants to know if we're all coming over this weekend?" I let the statement turn into a question.

"I'll ask my parents," Kiyo said with a shrug. "But I'm pretty sure they won't mind."

"We'll see," Yami said evasively.

"I have church on Sunday," Yomi reminded me.

"You know how my mom is," Mizu said. Her face was glum, a hint that most likely, she wouldn't be able to come.

"You better be able to come," Kiyo said, nudging Mizu.

"We'll talk about it more later," I called as Yoru and I proceeded to my house.

Yoru left my house at nine-thirty, pushing her bed time to the max limit. I can't say I blamed her; if I had been in her shoes, I would've been staying at a friend's house all night and day.

Yoru's Point of View:

"Yoru," my mom chastised as I left the dinner table, plate still mostly full. "You need to eat more." I turned to my Japanese mother, giving her a sheepish look.

"I'm not really hungry, Mom," I replied. My dad wasn't home. He was out of town, so it was just my mother and I in the house tonight.

"But, Yoru, it's not good for you to go without eating," she argued, but I had a feeling she wasn't going to push the subject much farther.

"I'm just not hungry," I sighed before turning to walk away. If truth be told, I wasn't exactly ready to go to my room, either. I logged onto the computer, noticing that Kairi had sent me a message about thirty minutes ago asking if she "needed to come and rip some dolls apart." I smiled, unable to hide the laugh that came to my mouth. I replied, No, not quite yet, but I'll call for back up if anything fishy goes down.

It didn't take long to get her reply. That thing better hope that it doesn't mess with you anymore! Creepy little weirdo. I could practically see her muttering that aloud to herself. Before replying, I checked a few more things on the internet.

I didn't log off before sending Kairi a message that all was well for now. Hopefully, she wouldn't worry about me all night. No need. I took a long, steamy bath, prolonging it as much as I could. It was an hour past my normal bed time when I finally crawled into my bed, hair damp and pajamas on. I had meant to work on some drawings before bed, and almost got up to do it. I thought against it, deciding that it would be a long enough day without adding lack of sleep to the list of issues tomorrow.

It wasn't easy to sleep that night. I had moved the doll to the shelf to my right, usually where I faced when I slept, refusing to let my guard down to it. I didn't care how pretty she was or how perfectly normal she seemed at times; today, when Kairi and I had had our little encounter with her, I had drawn a line. I was going to get rid of the doll as soon as I got the chance to.

I leaned back into my pillows, restless as my eyes drooped heavily. Minutes turned to an hour, or even farther. I pulled the blankets close around me, glancing at the clock. It was already midnight. I closed my eyes, refusing to open them until I succumbed to the sleep I so very much longed for. And finally, after an hour of deathly silence, I fell into sleep.

Kairi's Point of View:

I violent pang in my stomach woke me from my sleep. I sat up straight, pulling my feet to me immediately. My room was still, quiet in the darkness of night. A shiver ran down my spine before I grabbed my cell phone off the nightstand. It read six in the morning. I sighed a shaky breath, confused as to why I woke up so suddenly and for no apparent reason. I couldn't remember any resonant of a nightmare, but decided that it was best to blame it on dreams.

I lay back down, deciding to use my last thirty minutes of sleep instead of waking up early for once.

"Kairi, you're such a sappy, hopeless romantic!" Kiyo said on Wednesday morning, nudging my arm. I glanced down at the book I had in my hands. The bus shook, rattling the windows. I shrugged and laughed.

"I like romantic books," I admitted. "You know that more than anyone!"

"Yea, we all know how much Kairi loves her romantic books!" Yami chimed in from the bus seat behind us. Kiyo and I turned to look at her.

"Hey, you and aren't any better," Kiyo laughed.

"Neither are you," I joked to Kiyo.

"Whatever," she teased back. Yami ruffled my brown hair and Kiyo's exotic dark brown hair in unison. "I'm moving with Yami!" Kiyo proclaimed, standing with her things and moving back to the seat Yami occupied. Yoru glanced over from the seat across the aisle. I motioned for her to join me before replying to Kiyo.

"Fine! I feel the love. It's okay. Me and Yoru will hang out up here," I said, crossing my arms in a mock attitude. I looked up to Yoru's face, expecting her to smile and agree, but instead noticed she looked dreadful. She had dark circles under her eyes, and even her hair looked messier than usual. She came across as exhausted, which was strange. Yoru was usually the opposite.

"Yoru?" I questioned. She offered a tired smile. Curiosity shivered through me.

"Hey, Kairi," she yawned.

"Are you okay, Yoru?" I asked feeling a bit concerned.

"I am exhausted," she sighed in exasperation. I was on the dot with that guess. I patted her shoulder soothingly.

"Why's that?" I asked as Yami and Kiyo chatted about the newest hot guy in school, Zane. Disapproving comments from Yomi floated from her and Mizu's seat. I had a feeling I knew Yoru's answer, but when she spoke, I was taken aback.

"Bad dream," she said shrugging. I was about to ask about what, but she beat me to the next line. "But that's beside the point. What's the schedule for this weekend?"

I immediately stopped worrying, feeling excitement fill me. I said, "Okay! Today, we aren't doing anything special. This weekend, I presume we are going to the Secret Spot after school so we can finish off our homework for the weekend?" I worded it as a question. I thought of last weekend when we spent the weekend at her house.

"Sounds like a plan," Yoru laughed. "My mom already said that it was fine. I can just ride the bus to your Grandpa's house."

"Yea, Mom said she didn't care if I got off the bus at your Poppaw's house," Kiyo chimed in from behind us. Yoru and I glanced back as the bus stopped again to pick another kid up. Kiyo was peaking over the seat with Yami.

"Sorry, I can't make it," Yami muttered. "I'm busy with my parents and the church."

"Yea, about this weekend," Yomi said, looking a bit guilty. "Kenzy reminded me that we had plans to hang out this weekend."

"My Mom's a jerk, and said I probably wouldn't be able to come," Mizu said, crossing her arms in irritation.

"Looks like it's just me, Kiyo, and Yoru," I mumbled.

"Oh, we see how it is. We just aren't good enough, then?" Yoru asked making herself sound offended.

"No, that's not what I meant!" I said quickly as Kiyo shook her head at me. "I mean, we should all be able to come and have fun though!"

"Sure that's what you meant," Kiyo teased. I rolled my eyes, and shook my head before laughing to myself at our ridiculous conversations. I glanced out into a field we were passing. It was open with cows grazing without purpose.

Was there something else wrong with Yoru? It seemed like she was trying to avoid talking about the doll this morning, especially when she jumped right into the plans for the weekend. I sighed, shaking my head.

I focused back on the conversation between my friends for the rest of the extremely long bus ride to Ravenwood Boarding School. When we finally reached the school, my legs were tingling with numbness.

We climbed off the bus, reluctantly saying our goodbyes to Mizu. Ravenwood was split into two campuses; East and West. East Campus was for the middle school students. West Campus was for the high school students. Both were divided by a single stretch of parking lot where buses for the special students that didn't live on campus got on and off the buses.

We entered the high school campus, surprisingly quieter than usual before agreeing to meet in the Library before class for our morning rounds. We usually spent the mornings with one another in the Library or with Mrs. Clouser before the morning bells rang.

Yami, Kiyo, and I split ways with Yoru and Yomi and went to our first period to drop off our books and bags in the classroom. Yoru had Band first while Kiyo and Yami shared first with me, Science. Yomi had English about five class rooms down from our science class. After putting our unnecessary materials in our lockers, we left for the Library, meeting up with Angela, one of Kiyo's close friends, on the way.

When we arrived at the Library, Theodore and Caleb were both already there, working on the computers. It was no surprise that they were playing some kind of computer game. How ridiculous can people get?

"Hey ladies," Caleb said as his character punched his enemy in the face. Caleb was a car dork. He could probably take apart a car and put it back together an hour. He had short, dirty blond hair with glasses that didn't help his dork status. Surprisingly enough, Caleb was a farmer boy.

Theodore snickered. "Please," he said, rolling his eyes. "They aren't ladies. They're more like little girls."

"Excuse me," I said, raising an eyebrow, but it was really hard not to smile. "You're like, what? One year older than us?"

"Yea, something like that," Caleb replied for him.

Yomi and Yoru joined us about then. Kiyo greeted them, pulling them towards the computers.

"Hey, I'd be nice to me if I were you," Theodore said, getting surprisingly serious.

"Why?" I asked, sobering my expression.

A long silence passed as his concentration faltered, killing his character in the computer game. He made a big deal of yawning. "Well, I'm moving," he said with too much nonchalance. My eyes widened.

"What?" I asked. "You'll still go to Ravenwood, right?"

"No, I'm moving all the way to Floyd, much farther south than this," Theodore replied with a shrug. He restarted his games before I could reply.

The reality of what he had said didn't really hit me. He was one of my close friends, one of the only close guy friends that I had.

Crystal, another really good friend I had made after starting Ravenwood, joined us soon after, but I was too distracted by the implications of Theodore moving to get into any conversations. Crystal had black, curly hair that she usually tamed in a hair tie. Her eyes were an exact replica of mine, green and hazel.

The bell rang, and we went back to class. Under normal circumstances, we would have gone to Mrs. Clouser's room. Today was an exception due to Theodore's claim; he was moving over Spring Break. Shortly thereafter, he had also chewed up his hall pass and threw it down Kiyo's shirt. Typical perverted Theodore had returned.

As we made our way back to our Science class with Mrs. Coolspell, another thought occurred to me. I couldn't help but remember how upset Yoru had seemed when she first got on the bus. I'd have to ask her about it later…

When fourth period came around, Yoru seemed much brighter. Though she still had the dark circles under her eyes, I couldn't even see a trace of what I'd seen this morning. She didn't have that haunted look to her. Not really wanting to make the haunted look return, I didn't bring up the topic of last night or this morning. I didn't want to make her remember whatever it had been that had her so shaken.

She didn't mention the doll at all, and as class came to an end and the bus ride began, I felt certain that it had had something to do with Yoru's appearance and unhinged drowsiness. Yet, I didn't strike up a conversation with her about it. I couldn't bring myself to. It was pointless to dwell on things you couldn't fix, but still, I wished I could have reached out to give her some help, or at least some moral support.

Maybe that's why things ended in such a disaster.

Yoru's ringtone rang out as soon as I reached my room after coming in from the bus stop. It sent a panic through me that I didn't understand. I pulled my phone from my purse, answering it with speed I didn't think I had. It was a little disorienting.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked, immediately.

"Kairi, we have a problem," Yoru said blandly. Even over the phone, I could tell that she was stressing with urgency.

"What's wrong?" I repeated, getting ready to turn and leave the house so that I could meet her if she needed me.

"The doll is gone." There was a long silence in which I felt my blood run cold. I shivered, so surprised that I couldn't even muster a response. "I left her on the shelf next to my bed, and she wasn't here when I got home."

"Did you look all around your room?" I asked, finally breaking through my initial shock. I motioned to Mommaw that I was heading out to a friend's house. She nodded.

"Yes, I've even checked the whole house," Yoru said, her voice surprisingly calm.

"I'm on my way," I stated. "Maybe it's under the bed or something."

"She isn't," she said, and I felt as though Yoru was about to say something else. She didn't though.

"What is it?" I asked, making good progress across my yard at a fast walk.

"Nothing. I'll tell you when you get here." The line died, surprising me. Yoru usually always said goodbye before hanging up. I jogged the rest of the way to her house which was only a few yards away.

I came up to the wooden home that was surrounded by trees. It was the closest of our houses to the woods at the end of the neighborhood, and the trees stretched over the house as if the forest were trying to engulf the house and make it a part of the wilderness. The wood was dark oak. The drive way, also surrounded by woods, led to a two sided garage connected to the house. To the left, a porch suspended over the slanting hill that sloped down to my house gave entry to her front door, a glass door that always gave off an open feeling.

I was about to knock, but Yoru opened the door before I had the chance to. "Come on," she said. I kicked my shoes off in respect for her family's Japanese beliefs and ways. Yoru's house was so big and roomy.

The first room we stepped into was technically most of the second floor. It was all wooden, giving an older air, but it was so neat and furbished that I couldn't help but feel like it was modern. The living room stretched in front of us with hard wood floors the same soft color as the walls – a golden brown. To our left, a small woodstove sat, cold and unused this time of year. The neutrally grey-brown furniture augmented the rest of the house, including the sleek, black grand piano that lay next to the foot of Yoru's stairs in the left corner of the room.

We made our way towards the stairwell, passing the dining room-kitchen to the right of us. Yoru led me to the upstairs loft where her two bedroom doors lay to the left, a bathroom door straight head. To the right was an open, spacey loft where her parents kept their home computer next to a window, giving a nice view of the sloping mountain and their slanted room.

Yoru pulled me into her drawing room. "I left her in here this morning after yesterday's little incident, and she's nowhere to be found," Yoru explained.

I studied the room carefully before actually starting to look for the doll. We both searched every nook and cranny in her drawing room before moving to the room she slept in and doing to same. The doll was nowhere to be found!

"Yoru," I finally sighed, sitting down at her dining table an hour later. "I don't know where that thing could've gone, but it's definitely not here."

Yoru sighed, too, before leaning back in her chair. Yoru's mom came in from the garden then, carrying a basket of fresh vegetables. She had dark hair, and an Asian complexion that I would have killed for. She was short with kind eyes that spoke a thousand comforts. "Are you hungry? I can make you a snack?" she asked, her Japanese accent thick in her words. She must've noticed our exhaustion

"Thanks Mom," Yoru said. "Kairi, are you hungry?"

"Yea, fairly. I don't need much, though," I added quickly. Yoru's mom got to work on cutting some vegetables while we mulled over what could've happened. After the snack, I bid Yoru a farewell before leaving for my house.

Leaving Yoru's house was a both comforting and disconcerting. I hadn't realized how long we had been looking through her house for the doll. It had only felt like an hour at the time, but judging by the sky, it was much later.

The sun was starting to set and everything casted shadows that were long and lanky. The trees surrounding Yoru's house waved in a quiet breeze, rustling them. I couldn't help but notice the eerily fast approaching darkness that began to coat the world.

I quickened my pace, thoughts of the disturbing doll trickling into my mind. By the time I reached my house, I was jogging. Once I was down my gravel pathway to the house, I turned towards my open yard. Dusk had set in, and I could almost see movement in the shadows. I backed away, slowly. For a moment, everything was still except for the breeze blowing through the grass.

Movement in the peripheral of my right eye caused me to jump, quickly turning to face the movement. There, in the waning light of the sky, I saw the outline of a shadowy figure. My breath caught in my throat. The shadow of the figure was just disappearing as my eyes began to focus on it. I ran inside, slamming the door behind me. I locked it before pressing my back to the door. My breath was quick, and my heart was racing. A million questions raced through my mind.

What was that thing? Why did it disappear? How had it even disappeared in the first place? Had I imagined the figure or was there really something there? Maybe someone was trying to play a sick joke on me. I bit my tongue, forcing myself to take deep breaths.

I had a hard time keeping calm as I took off my shoes and made my way to my kitchen.

Mom and Mommaw were both sitting at the table, smoking a cigarette each. My mom always said how I looked more like my dad, but I wasn't so sure who I'd gotten my genetics from. My mom had brown hair and blue eyes, something I'd kill for because my hazel green eyes seemed bland to me. I was also a lot taller than her; she was at least a foot shorter than me.

Dinner was on the stove, and I again realized just how long I'd been at Yoru's house. "What's wrong?" Mommaw asked, her eyebrows rising. My face must've been red from the jog to my house.

My stomach clenched, and I guessed it'd probably be best if I didn't saying anything about what was going on with Yoru or with what I had just seen. "Nothing," I said shrugging. "I just jogged home. It was getting dark, so I didn't want to be out too late."

"Aright," Mommaw said, buying my act. "Well, get your sister and Chloe. It's time to eat."

"Okay," I said with a smile. I turned from the kitchen, going back into the living room and down the hall to my front door. I dared a peek outside. Kiyo's house, illuminated, was the only thing staring back at me. Goosebumps sprouted on my arms as I remembered what I'd witnessed. I pulled my eyes from the front yard and Kiyo's house to the stairs to my left. I started up them.

I found Chloe and Feenix in my room, watching a movie on my television. Chloe, my eleven-year-old cousin, glanced up. Her strawberry blond hair was short, stopping her shoulders. Her side bangs always covered half of her face – something that always irritated Mommaw.

Feenix was exactly five years younger than me to the day. She was born with down syndrome, so she was a bit slower than most kids her age. She had pink-framed glasses and light freckles that only came out during the summer, when we had lots of sun. She had long brown hair, usually worn up in a ponytail.

"What?" Chloe asked impatiently.

"It's time for dinner," I said, turning from her.

Dinner passed quickly, and I found it easier be downstairs around my family members instead of upstairs, secluded in my room. I sent a message to Yoru asking if she had had any luck. I debated on telling her about my strange encounter on the way home.

In a last minute decision, I opened a chat with everyone in our circle of friends. I would tell them all at the same time. I didn't like repeating myself anyway.

_**Kairi**__: I was on my way home from Yoru's house and something was watching me. I got the weirdest feeling, and I saw a figure in the corner of my eye. Um what should I do?_

_**Kiyo**__: WHAT?! Are you okay?! I'm coming over now._

_**Kairi**__: NO! No, no, I'm fine, seriously. Besides, what if it's still out there!?_

_**Yomi**__: Now that you mention it, I've been getting weird feelings lately, too._

_**Mizu**__: Guys, Thomas is acting like a jerk._

_**Yomi**__: Mizu, this is serious. Open another chat room for boyfriend drama._

_**Mizu**__: Lolz, be nice Yomi, gosh._

_**Yoru**__: I can't find the doll, still. She's nowhere._

_**Yomi**__: You lost it?!_

_**Kiyo**__: It's gone?!_

_**Mizu**__: Wtf?_

_**Yami**__: Guys, I really don't like any of this…_

_**Kairi**__: CALM DOWN! :( We need to chill. Maybe I should've just called you one at a time. This is overwhelming._

_**Yoru**__: I came home and she was gone. That's the shortened version of it, anyway. I don't know where it is. So for now, I'm just not going to worry about it. Good riddance._

_**Yami**__: I'm with Yoru. Let's just forget about it. Crap, I have to go. Mom wants the computer._

_**Kiyo**__: I have to go, too. :( Bye guys_

_**Mizu**__: Same. See ya._

My head swam in disorientation. Yoru and I were the only ones left in the chat room. Instead of sending anymore, I called her. She answered on the first ring. "That was interesting," she commented instead of saying a normal hello.

"Yeah, no doubt. It's easier to call. I'll remember that next time," I replied. "Chatting is a bit hectic."

"Seriously," she said. "I have to go soon, but I thought that you should know. Mom is acting like she doesn't even remember the doll." Her voice lowered, and it was hard to hear her talking, now. "It's like it never happened. She's acting like she's never even seen the doll that I described."

"What the heck?" I asked, pinching the bridge of my nose. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know. But I really don't like it."

"Neither do I," I agreed. "We'll have to be on guard. Night, Yoru."

"Good-night, Kairi."

**Here's chapter one! Please enjoy (and inspire PEASE!)! I hope you get interested enough to read. It's boring, I know, but bare with me until it gets interesting, please! I love you, my wonderful fans!**

**~Kairi**


	3. Bara the Doll

**I'd like to note that the season and month are wrong here. It's actually Feb. and I still have quite a few kinks to work out, but until then, please enjoy! I love you guys! Thank you for reading (if you are reading this haha)**

**~Kairi**

_Chapter Two: Bara the Doll_

The bus ride to Poppaw's farm was a bit longer than our normal ride. After stopping at our neighborhood and hearing Mizu, Yami, and Yomi call their goodbyes from outside the bus, the bus driver turned around and drove the way we had come.

Passing long stretches of fields and forests was normal in Franklin County, Virginia. It wasn't so crowded and urban as the other counties and cities we passed to get to Ravenwood Boarding School.

When we finally arrived, we got off the bus and walked down the driveway that was lined with slightly budding trees. The driveway had two entrances that filtered back to the large brick house with dark green shutters. Tall oaks scattered around the yard offering shade from the surprisingly warm April sun. Though it was only April, usually a month associated with slightly cooler mornings, the sun beat down on us like it was summer.

Poppaw's house was like my second home, the one that I came to on the weekends. With four-hundred acres of nothing but trees, fields, creeks, and Smith Mountain Lake, it was a place that usually wasn't associated with boredom. I knew before Kiyo could even get the words out of her mouth that she wanted to ride on the Gator, our small, off-road vehicle that we drove around all the time despite the fact that people under sixteen years old weren't supposed to drive it.

"We should go to the Secret Spot on the Gator, Kairi!" she said, sounding excited.

"Calm down, Kiyo. We just got here," Yoru laughed.

"Sure, sure, that's fine, but I would like to set my stuff down, Kiyo," I joked. Yoru nodded in agreement, and Kiyo faked a pout as we entered the house through the garage door. Poppaw's brick house was magnificent. It had a total of four floors including the basement and attic. The garage door opened into the second floor den where Poppaw usually slept and watched television. The floors were wooden in this huge room, and a big rug carpeted the living area to the left and the walk area that led to the kitchen. I cushiony sofa and recliner sat around a worn looking coffee table. Where the television was notched into the brick wall, a bunch of decorative wood lay stacked underneath. A closed off fireplace was to the right of the decorative wood. Above the fireplace, an old-timey clock ticked. To our right, a wall of large windows showed the back yard that was framed by tall temperate trees with barely blooming leaves and flowers.

"Home, sweet, home," I said, smiling to Kiyo and Yoru. They both rolled their eyes and we walked through the threshold, knowing the only one there would be Poppaw's friend, Carol, that took care of the house when he was at work. We went upstairs to my room, which was boring for a teenager's room, and very simple. A little too simple for my liking, but I never complained.

Upon entering my room, an electric keyboard from my childhood sat to the left. To the right was my wooden oak dresser. Farther inside was my "vanity mirror" as Yami called it. My bed sat in the center of the room against the wall. Another dresser that was more used for a table than a dresser sat to the left of the bed, which was the side I usually slept on. The right side of the bed had a small side table with a lamp. Other lamps were scattered around the room on various surfaces; I was never a big fan of the dark. Near my closet, a small rocking chair sat, more for decoration than anything.

I dropped my school and overnight bags and plopped down on my golden comforter. Kiyo followed my lead, jumping onto the bed next. Yoru, in a more orderly fashion, sat her things down, and sat down near us.

"Gator?" Kiyo prompted. With a glance to one another and a caving smile, Yoru and I finally gave in, and stood, heading down the stairs and out the garage.

Thirty minutes later, we were sticking our toes into cold lake water. The waves from boaters slowly pushed the water up and down in a mesmerizing lull. It was comforting. There was a forest path on the back of my Grandpa's farm that lead straight down to Smith Mountain Lake. Here, we had claimed our Secret Spot. We swam here during the summer, and stuck our feet in the water during late spring and early autumn. Winter, we never associated with the water, but rather stayed in our sturdy tree house (we preferred the word fort.)

"We have to do homework soon!" Kiyo prompted as she waded out onto the shelf of the rock some. It was early spring, and the last of the mildly cold winter was fading, but that water was still a bit bitter. It had been an abnormally warm winter, even though our winters have been snow-less and warmer than usual for quite some time. We haven't had a white Christmas since a year or so after I was born; it's been fifteen years as of February sixth since I was born. So this wasn't too strange for us.

"I hate homework," I commented as I swished my bare feet around the cool water. I was sitting on the dirt bank next to the remains of tree trunk. Its roots served as a good handle, seat, and foot hold, but for now, it was a seat. Yoru sat in a sturdy branch, the tree attached swayed slowly as she swung her feet back and forth.

"I have a whole worksheet in Algebra," Yoru complained, though her complaining wasn't to be taken to heart. She always complained teasingly, almost to fill the silence. Yoru was never one to let an awkward silence spring up in the air.

"So do I," Kiyo said, though I could tell Kiyo wasn't complaining in the least. She liked homework, and school in general.

"Mrs. Scales should let up on the homework," I said, splashing water up into the air just for the sake of doing it. The droplets caught in the sun and sparkled before tinkling back into the water.

"Oh it isn't that much," Kiyo said, waving her hand dismissively. I shook my head, marveling at her ease at book work and research, and mental work in general.

"Hey guys…" Yoru began, catching both of our attentions. I immediately noticed her voice had changed, going deeper, maybe even a little darker.

"Yea, what is it?" I asked when Kiyo didn't respond.

"I think I have to tell you something," she began. A shudder ran through me when I felt that what she was about to say was going to be really important.

"Well, we're listening, you can tell us," Kiyo said, encouragingly. Yoru glanced around, seeming a bit uneasy and acting like we were going to be overheard.

"It's about that creepy doll I got last weekend," Yoru whispered. My mind flashed back to the day I tried to help her look for it after it had gone missing. Another shiver rumbled down my spine, and I had a feeling it had nothing to do with the cold water on m feet.

I nodded, and spoke, "Sure, what's going on? Did she show back up?"

"No, even worse," Yoru said, looking around again. "I had a really bad dream about her." I glanced at Kiyo as she nodded to Yoru, encouraging her to keep going. "We were in this rose garden, and these roses were flying up in the air and catching on fire. I followed them and touched this shiny veil, and that doll popped out. I didn't know what to do, and she was saying all this stuff like I was a devil and I needed to go back to hell or something. It didn't make any sense."

"What the heck?" I asked aloud. Kiyo's eyebrows were knitted together in concern and a bit of confusion.

"That's not even the worse part," Yoru said, looking down into the now rippling water. "In the dream, I had touched one of the rose thorns, and pricked my hand open…When I woke up I had blood all over that hand."

I found that my hand had found its way to my mouth as the world spun a little bit. I wasn't sure what to say so I just waited for Kiyo or Yoru to break the tense silence around us.

"Was there a wound?" Kiyo asked quietly. Yoru examined her hand quickly, as if she hadn't even thought of that. When she paled, I knew she had found one.

"Does a small pink scar count?" she asked in a small voice. She jumped down from her perch on the tree branch, holding out her hand. I saw the faint pink scar she was referring to on her palm as if it were once gashed wide open.

"Oh my god," Kiyo whispered in shock. I couldn't force myself to speak through my surprise. "You call that small?" Kiyo had meant it seriously, but Yoru laughed it off. I could tell though that this had disturbed her. It disturbed me too!

"What are we going to do about this?" I finally asked once a thick silence had fallen over us.

"Is there anything we can do?" Kiyo asked. Yoru shrugged instead of answering.

"Homework," I sighed. They glanced at me before nodding.

"Homework," Yoru agreed. Then we hoisted ourselves into our fort, pulling books, papers, pens, and pencils from our bags. No one mentioned the missing doll at all. That is, until things began to affect us all.

Yoru's Point of View:

"Night, Mom," I called absently as I crawled into bed on Sunday night. The weekend had passed faster than we had expected, and I had reluctantly returned home on Sunday. I curled onto my side, exhausted from the late nights we had spent listening to loud music, sneaking out to explore the farm fields at night, and screaming our throats sore when we saw animals moving around in the dark. Always expect an adventure when you go to Kairi's grandpa's house.

Languor consumed me as soon as I closed my eyes. Instantly, I was sucked into unconsciousness.

_ Whimpers call from outside. I glance out my window, and see the misty, dark night. The whimper sounds again, and I know it needs my help. As I make my way through the silent house, and into the even more silent night, I continue to hear the poor, wounded animal._

_ The misty thick air wraps around my lungs like quiet and graceful ribbons, and there's a slight chill that comes with the mist. I shudder slightly as I follow the poor whimpers into the forest up the slanting hill. The silence is dense. I only hear my heartbeat, my breathing, and the soft, mossy ground beneath my soles. The constant sound is only interrupted by the quiet whimpers._

_ As I make my way to the soft whimpering cries, I feel strange. I see, ahead of me, a large tree that is circled with large crystals, each bearing a roman numeral. I count five in sight, but there is a large gap in the very front between XII and I. I don't have time to ponder this._

_ The crying animal makes a squeaking noise. My head snaps up towards the upper branches in the tree. The moon shines brightly behind the naked branches. I squint slightly and see a large wolf creature standing in the branches. Its torso is missing a huge chunk. I flinch away in disgust. It leaps from the branches, landing right in front of me. I take a step back, not in fear, but for distance from the thing; its nose is barely three inches from mine!_

_ It howls to the moon; wind suddenly blinds me as it whips through the branches and around the wolf and me. I squint to see what's going on. Crystal shards are flying towards me left and right! I lift my arms to defend my face, just in time for one to gorge into my arm. It would've hit my cheek bone if I hadn't moved my arm up in defense. The pain in my arm is worth it._

_ The wind has blown me back several inches when it finally dies. I blink several times, and glance up at the wolf. But my doll is standing there instead. My face pales slightly before she speaks._

_ "You've returned to the world of dreams, Eienyoru," she says softly. As she twirls a few sharpened shards of crystallized rock in her hand, I glare. She juggles them with graceful fingers and pale hands._

_ "More like you've drug me into the world of dreams!" I shout. She smiles slightly before stepping forward._

_ I pull the crystal from my arm. The point is red with my blood, but other than that, it is clear with a purple tint, like her dress. I clench it in my fist._

_ "Come, my lovely Demon," the doll swoons, stepping closer._

_ "I am not a Demon!" I yell, stabbing the crystal that's clenched in my hand into her torso. I gasp when my hand goes through the cloth, too. My eyes automatically dart to hers. They're showing outrage, but more than anything, I see surprise._

_ "You're…not whole?" I whisper. "You don't have a torso! How are you even standing upright?!" Her eyes flash to anger immediately before her sword appears in her hand._

_ "I will be whole as soon as I have you and that other stupid girl!" she screams. "Die, Demon! Perish so you will become mine!"_

_ I stumble backwards, away from the doll as she swings. "Enough, Bara!" another voice shouts. It's a female, and it's very defiant. The doll's eyes slit with morose before she tries to slice me one more time. But all my vision fades to white before the sword can cut into my flesh._

_ When it returns, I am sitting in my room. There's a figure near my window, standing. It's tall, but the room is too dark for me to tell anything else. "You're safe. Rest. Your questions will be answered in short time." It's the same voice that I heard before my vision went white. _

_ "I want them now!" I snap, but I realize it's too late._

_ The girl figure fades into black as everything else begins to fade, too. Defeated, I crawl into bed, slowly curling into a ball under the covers. Dawn must be coming soon…_

When I woke up, I was shaking. My breath was too rapid and uneven to have been sleeping soundly. Immediately, I looked myself up and down for signs that last night's dream had been real. The only thing that had me worried was the small scar on my arm, exactly where the crystal shard had cut my arm. I shuddered. I had never had a scar there before.

I stood quickly, and had to sit back down due to a wave of dizziness. I had to tell Kairi and Kiyo as soon as I saw them at school. My clock read five forty-eight. I sank back onto my bed, not really wanting to go back to sleep after such a freaky dream. I closed my eyes for only seconds before my alarm was screaming at me.

I glanced at the clock, and, this time, it read seven o'clock. I had missed the first alarm. I only had ten minutes to get ready. I groaned as I stood, racing around the room to try to fix my hair and change my clothes. Today was already going to be a bad day.

It was decidedly best to wait until the evening to tell everyone about my newest dream. Kairi and Kiyo were too busy gushing about my first dream to the others on the bus. They hadn't heard it yet.

When fourth period rolled around, though, Kairi and Kiyo were shocked, just as they had been when I told them about the first dream I had had. Speculation between the three of us began to grow, and soon we were listing possibilities. Some ideas of what could be happening made sense, but they were too bizarre to be true. Then again, it's a little bizarre that my creepy doll quite literally came to life and disappeared.

Yami kept to herself, though, only speaking when she was addressed. I had a feeling that she didn't like talking about the doll very much, or anything out of the ordinary for that matter. Yami was a very "down to earth" person. She didn't like anything bizarre. Kairi, on the other hand, was reveling in ideas.

"So that random voice called her Bara?" she asked.

"Yea, it was really weird. So I'm guessing her name is Bara," I replied with a shrug.

"Well that does make sense," Kiyo agreed.

"I wonder what she wants!" Kairi said, sounding a bit excited about it.

"You sound so excited," I stated with a smile.

"Well, not really excited. I'm just curious is all," she said.

"I don't like it," Kiyo said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Well at least she isn't actually around in your room anymore," Kairi pointed out.

"Very true," Kiyo said, nodding eagerly. "I was not liking that thing in your room." The announcements came on then, signaling the end of the day. I tugged my book bag onto my back and stood up. Kairi, Yami, and Kiyo stood with me. Kairi, sensing Yami's aversion to the strange events unfolding around her, had begun gushing about a book she had been reading to fill the silence that had fallen over us as we walked to the buses.

Kairi's Point of View:

The dreams with Yoru were just the beginning. It didn't take long for everyone to start feeling the effects of Yoru's situation. The night after her second dream, I had crawled into my bed, clicked a soft song to play on my computer, and flipped the lights off. Sleep came easily.

_ We are in fifth period, English. Yoru, Yami, and Kiyo are here with me. The lights have been cut, and everyone has fallen silent. No one so much as breathes. Then we hear it. Footsteps coming down the hall, echoing softly. They grow closer and louder until they're right outside the door. My heart thumps heavily in my chest._

_ The door knob that's supposed to be locked because of school policy slowly twists. It's the only noise I hear besides Kiyo's rapid breathing and my thundering heart beat. Yoru and I exchange glances before standing up. The door creaks open. Kiyo stands, then, and takes stays at my side as we brace ourselves for the worst._

_ A doll, only waist high to me, with long silver hair that reaches her ankles, steps into the room. She's in a purple dress with boots. One of her eyes is covered by an eye patch; the other is golden. Her uncovered eye finds Yoru quickly in the crowd of our fellow students, who are surprisingly still quiet._

_ With the flick of her wrist, our peers and beloved teacher fall to the ground. I'm not sure if they're alive or if they're dead. The doll, presumably her name is Bara, steps forward with delicate movements as if she is measuring each step she takes. It's unnerving._

_ She summons a clear sword of some sort before pointing it at Yoru, and I'm thankful she's a good five feet away from us. "Eienyoru," she said. "Why do you run? Taking refuge in another person's dream and pulling extra people into this problem will only get them hurt as well."_

_ "Back off!" I say, stepping forward to defend Yoru._

_ "Yea, seriously! We're her friends, you psychopathic doll!" Kiyo adds._

_ "It seems your friends are just as ignorant as you are, Eienyoru," Bara says, a tinge of anger noticeable in her voice. "I guess you'll all die at my hand."_

_ "Get down!" Yoru says as she pushes us aside. We all three fall to the ground, covered by desks in case Bara starts any funny business. "Go! Get to the door!"_

_ Kiyo scrambles ahead of me. Yoru and I follow in her wake. The sound of rocks or crystal or ice or something rings in my ears, and I wonder what that doll is doing. Pieces of glass or crystal start bouncing in our pathway. Thankfully, we have reached the door, though._

_ Kiyo jumps to her feet, and bounds for the library, which is also dark like the rest of the buildings. I'm right behind her, and I know that Yoru is right behind me. We make it to the library where we find refuge in the corner of the library behind some computer desks._

_ Silence falls upon the building as we will ourselves to breathe softer and to calm our heart beats. We wait, tension building in us as well as in the air. None of us talk. We're too scared to. There's a loud crashing noise before the doll is suddenly standing right in front of us. Kiyo's screams wrap around the library as the lights flicker on and off, showing us the doll as she slowly walks forward._

_ "Are you ready, Eienyoru?" she whispers quietly._

I woke up, gasping. Sweat coated my skin, and I found it hard to catch my breath. The dark room around me was quiet except for the soothing music coming from my computer, but I couldn't help but feel scared. I grabbed my cell phone to check the time. I sighed when I saw that it was too late to call Yoru, Kiyo, or anyone else for that matter. I squeezed my eyes shut, and leaned back against my pillow. I had to go back to sleep. I had school tomorrow. And I'd have to tell my friends then.

Yoru's Point of View

It was strange to have Kairi telling us a dream she had had that resembled something of my own. Kiyo and I both had experienced a similar dream the night before, and it baffled us. I remember the dream distinctly as it was told. Kiyo, even strangely, finished the sentences that Kairi began, relaying what she remembered had happened next in her own dream. The three of us couldn't come up with an explanation for the phenomena.

Secretly, though, I felt a bit of comfort in the fact that I wasn't the only one going through the weirdness that had consumed our lives for the past week. Besides, teenagers shouldn't have to worry about that, right?

But then again, I didn't want anyone else to worry about it, either. It was a heavy burden, and I barely got enough sleep anymore in fear of having another nightmare tainted with creepy voices and talking dolls. The week dragged on, and by the middle, Yami, Yomi, and Mizu had all complained to have felt unsettled at some point, and Mizu even spoke of several strange dreams that made no sense.

Something about people she had never seen before talking to us and giving us advice. Then again, Mizu was strange in general, so maybe it was just a normal dream for her. And Kiyo just seemed enthusiastic and ready to help at anytime. But sometimes, I noticed she'd stare off into space, something she usually didn't do around us.

As for my own dreams, I wasn't sure is they were actually happening or if I was going insane. I mean, what are you supposed to do when you have life threatening dreams at the age of fourteen? With all the weirdness going on with my friends, I was a bit worried that something was really up. Maybe we were being haunted?

However, my next encounter proved that to be false.

I was just getting out of the bath and my hair was dripping, damp with warm water. It was Saturday, and Kiyo and Kairi had gone to Kairi's grandpa's house for the weekend like usual. My mom was out in the garden and my dad was out of town for the next few days. He left town often for business trips.

When I went into my drawing room, an abrupt sound reached my ears. The clearing of a throat before a single word. "Eienyoru." I hated that name. It wasn't even my full name, but the doll had consistently called me that. The voice belonged to a woman, but it didn't sound feminine in the least, a stern edge lacing it. I turned slowly to face whoever it was but froze when my eyes, widened with curiosity, fell on the newcomer.

"What the…?" I began but I couldn't bring myself to say the rest. Before me stood a tall girl seemingly five feet and nine inches in height. She had long white hair that fell loosely around her waist. She had a very stern face, not very "girly looking" at all. Her left eye was covered by a simple black eye patch.

_What's with everyone liking eye patches?_ I thought to myself.

"Who are you?" I managed to ask, still holding my wet towel from my bath. "And how did you get in here?"

"Sempu," she said briefly. "And I used the front door." Her eyebrow raised as if her answer was obvious.

"You're the one that stopped the doll from attacking me before!" I exclaimed in a sudden burst of realization.

"Yes," Sempu replied grimly. "Her name is Bara, and she's not a doll." A random rush of anger consumed me just then, and I felt myself talking before I had given myself permission.

"Can you explain to me what the hell is going on?" I demanded. "I've been mentally scarred for the past week because some creepy old guy gave me a doll that came to life and torments my friends and me and quite frankly, I'm sick of it!"

Sempu didn't seem surprised by my outburst. Her arms stayed crossed over her chest, her eyes analyzing me like I was different than she'd expected or something. "Bara is a Demon," Sempu said, leaning against the wall in the loft. I was genuinely surprised at her words, but found myself drawn closer to know more of the situation I was in. "And so are you."

My mouth dropped open. "A _what_?!"

"A Demon," she repeated. "Do you want me to spell it out for you? D-E-M-O-N."

"I know how to spell it, but there's no way I'm a Demon!" I exclaimed, denial flushing through me. I wasn't a Demon. I was a normal teenage girl caught in some crazy delusion in her mind.

"You are one of thirteen Demon girls referred to as the XIII Girls of Hades," Sempu continued as if she weren't calling me a Demon from Hell. "Bara is after you all because she is incomplete."

"Yeah, I found that out the night she attacked me with her weird crystal rocks," I said, remembering how my hand had slipped through her cloth, piercing nothing. "Why does she need us? Why does she look like a doll?"

"Bara is a Demon, but her body and soul were destroyed long ago. What was left of her, her essence, found a medium; the doll that was given to you." Sempu paused, taking a moment to let that sink in before continuing. "Now she wants her body back, and the XIII Girls of Hades have that power. Each of you has some special quality. If she sacrifices you all and extracts your Demonic essence, you'll create the perfect medium for her."

"What do you mean by Demonic essence?" I asked, crossing my arms. If I had the chance to ask questions, I wasn't going to waste it.

"You have a Demonic essence, almost like a part of you, or a side of you rather, that comes out under certain circumstances. Intense anger, emotional moments, magical influences, or even the sight of blood has been known to cause a Demon to show its true self, even if they don't know it is their true self," Sempu replied evenly.

"If she wants me so bad, why doesn't she come and get me?" I challenged.

"Dreams are the easiest way to communicate. If Bara showed up here and attacked you, how would your mother and father react?" Sempu had raised an eyebrow, not really waiting for a response to her rhetorical question. "It would expose her completely, and it would be rash. She wants to lure you out into her trap so that no one knows when she finally plucks you up for the reaping."

Sempu's words sent a chill down my back. I couldn't help but shudder. "Is that what she's doing to the others?" I asked.

"No, it's what she's already done to the others. You and the twelfth girl are the only ones left. Everyone else is caught in her web," Sempu answered. "But she won't sacrifice them just yet. She wants you all at the same time, so it will be done at once. Bara wants to be finished with this task. The twelfth girl's Demon is the heart for her vessel, not a physical one as I assume you're thinking, but an emotional one."

"Why does she need _me_?" I wondered. My stomach churned uncomfortably, and I had a feeling I wasn't going to like the answer.

"Eienyoru, _you_ are the thirteenth girl, and your Demon is Kuroyaku. He's the soul that Bara wants, and she won't stop until she has you both. He's inside you, a piece of you that you've never released."

"Why are you helping me?" I asked, feeling too suspicious of her true intent.

"I want Bara gone just as much as anyone else, probably more. The only way for that to happen is if the girls are out of the way," Sempu said smoothly.

"That includes me!" I exclaimed, taking an involuntary step back.

"No, you'll be the one to get rid of them," she countered, face as stern and serious as before.

"What?!" I was out of sorts now, unsure what to think. What could I possibly do against twelve Demon girls and a Demon doll when I couldn't even keep a B average in math?

"You'll do well to keep on guard over the next few days. I'll keep in contact," Sempu said, straightening her stance.

"Hey, I didn't sign up for this, and neither did my friends," I snapped, stepping forward. "We are having the same dreams on the same night, and Bara isn't only bothering me, but the rest of them. They have nothing to do with this!"

"Most of us never do sign up for the things we end up in. But that's life. You're friends have their own destinies apart from yours, but it is Fate that they'll intermingle anyway. Until all is known, which it never is, the future is uncertain." Sempu's voice had turned mysterious and wise, like she had learned it herself a thousand times.

"I don't understand," I began.

"But you will," she cut in. And with no further warning, she vanished. I gasped, recoiling back in utter surprise. It took me a full minute to gather enough sense to wander back into my room and call Kairi and Kiyo, who both, luckily, answered Kairi's phone on the first ring.

As they listened to me relay the story, though, and as I heard their reactions, I realized they didn't seem as surprised as I would have expected. They were surprised, but not nearly enough for the ridiculousness I had just spouted to them.

"Well, you aren't the only one that's had some…strange encounters," Kairi said slowly. My stomach clenched. Had Bara already gotten to them?

"What happened," I demanded.

"It's a long story," Kiyo said. They were obviously on speaker phone, I realized. "But we'll start from the beginning of the weekend."

Kairi's Point of View

Friday night, Kiyo and I were under blankets in my grandpa's den while a scary movie played on the flat screen. We clung to one another as the protagonist, a girl who was home alone, babysitting her siblings, was stalked by a creepy man in a mask. It was horrifying especially considering Poppaw wasn't home yet, and Carol, his friend that lived with him, was out of town. He worked late on weeknights. Carol was visiting family in California this month, so she'd been out of town for awhile now.

It was dark except for the screen lighting the den, and even that was really dull and dim. "I think I need a break from this," I muttered, covering my eyes from the screen as the tense music started to build again.

"Me too!" Kiyo exclaimed. We darted into the kitchen before anything else could appear on the screen to cause us miniature heart attacks.

"Let's make some dinner," I offered, walking past the kitchen table towards the sink. I sipped some water from my glass I'd filled earlier.

"Ramen?" she insisted.

"Sound good to me," I said, grabbing two bowls from the cabinets near the sink. A chill shivered my spine, and I turned my gaze to her. Kiyo went to the other side of the kitchen near the dining room entrance. She popped open the cabinets where we kept all the soup. As I focused on her, though, my peripheral vision caught sight of something standing in the doorway of the dark dining room.

"Holy crap!" Kiyo shouted dropping the two packs of ramen she had grabbed. I jumped at her shout, and we both looked to the doorway where the figure had been standing only moments ago. I went to her side immediately.

The doorway was empty.

"Um, you saw that, right?" she asked, unsure.

"Yes, I definitely saw that," I said, shaken by the sight.

"That's not cool. Let's, uh, finish with this so we can hurry up and get back to our movie," she said, slowly bending down to pick up the ramen packs. Her eyes never left the doorway. Another chill fell over me, and I shuddered. We backed away from the creepy dining room. We watched each other's backs while the other made their ramen, scanning the whole room.

"Oh my god!" Kiyo exclaimed, stumbling back into me. I glanced up from my bowl of ramen, preparing to pull her behind me in case of something coming at us. A shadowy figure dashed across the dimly lit den doorway.

"Shoot, shoot, shoot," I muttered, trying to rationalize. The garage door creaked, and I flinched, pulling Kiyo behind me and backing up. She peaked over my shoulder as footsteps echoed from the garage door. It opened, and the shadows obscured the face until he flipped the light on. My heart raced until the face became recognizable.

"Well girls, why do you have the lights off? It's mighty dark for you to be making dinner," Poppaw said, smiling.

"Thank goodness," Kiyo murmured. I nodded, unsure what to say.

"Yeah, we were watching a movie," I finally said.

"Was it a scary movie?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he stepped into the kitchen.

"Yeah," Kiyo and I replied in unison.

"What're you making for dinner?" He took his coat off, hanging it on the back of one of the kitchen chairs.

"Ramen," I answered, waving my hand over our bowls on the kitchen counter. The chill in the air melted away in Poppaw's presence, and I took comfort in the peace that came over me.

"Sounds good. I'll cook dinner tomorrow," Poppaw declared.

"Okay, sounds good," I echoed mindlessly.

Kiyo and I ate quickly. We didn't waste time on cook our food and tossing it down, despite the hot soup. As soon as we were finished, we went upstairs to my room, not pausing to look at the dining room doorway.

"That was a little too weird," Kiyo said when we finally got to my bed.

"No kidding," I said, staring at my cracked door. I turned to face her, and I could tell she was scared, more scared than I had realized before. "Hey, it's alright." I pulled her close for a hug. A loud slam sounded through the room as soon as I hugged her, and we jumped in unison. My eyes flew to my door.

It was shut, as if someone had deliberately slammed it closed. I looked at Kiyo, finding it hard to speak again. "Can we sleep with the lights on, Kairi?" she whispered.

"Of course," I agreed, nodding numbly. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

"We didn't get much sleep last night," I muttered to Yoru, weariness filling me. Her reply came after a lot of hesitation.

"What if it's Bara?" she asked. "What if she's messing with you guys, too?"

"I…I don't think it's Bara that's doing this," Kiyo replied.

"Who else would it be?" I asked looking away from my phone that Yoru spoke through. Her gaze fell to the trees outside the window. When she didn't reply, fear crept up my spine. "Kiyo, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, but she wouldn't meet my gaze.

"You can tell us, Kiyo," Yoru added sounding concerned.

"Really, it's nothing," she said, finally looking at me. She smiled, but it didn't touch grey-blue eyes.

"You sure?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. She nodded.

"Mom's finally back," Yoru muttered. I could hear irritation in her tone. "She wants me to help her carry some of the old stake for our tomato plants in."

"Alright, keep us posted on anything that goes down. Will you tell Mizu, Yomi, and Yami? We won't see them until Sunday," I explained.

"Sure thing," Yoru said. "I'll tell Yomi, and I'm sure she'll see Yami and Mizu before tomorrow, anyway."

"See you later, Yoru!" I said.

"Bye guys," she said. The line died then, leaving silence around Kiyo and me. I watched her for several minutes as she watched the swaying branches as a breeze blew through the trees outside.

"You want to play some video games?" I offered in a weak attempt to distract her from whatever was bothering her. She seemed to snap out of her dazed state before nodding.

"Yeah, do you have your games here?"

I smiled slyly. "Don't I always?"


End file.
